PwC and ANA Unveil Research Linking Marketing Excellence to Shareholder Value
The study unlocks the formula for marketing excellence and ushers in a new chapter of AI-powered value creation
Orlando, Fla. – October 22, 2025 – PwC, in collaboration with the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), today released a pivotal analysis on marketing’s enterprise impact . The study draws on five years of data across more than 190 companies representing $1.3 trillion in brand equity, $170 billion in annual marketing investment, and nearly $2 trillion in shareholder return each year. Backed by in-depth interviews with over 30 CMOs and CFOs across leading global brands, it establishes a transformative analysis that marketing excellence drives shareholder value at scale. Importantly, it helps set the stage for marketing’s role in unlocking business value growth and explores the compounding effect AI can have.
Revealed first in a gathering of the Global CMO Growth Council during the ANA Masters of Marketing Conference in Orlando, FL, the findings confirm what CMOs have long argued: great marketing is an engine of enterprise growth and competitive advantage.
Key Findings
- Greater shareholder value: Leading marketers outperform their peers in shareholder returns by 79%.
- Outperforming the market: Leading marketers don’t just outperform their peers. They outperform the market as well, outpacing the S&P 500 by 8.8 percentage points annually.
- Creative excellence compounds value: award-winning brands demonstrate 3X higher brand value.
- AI as a force multiplier for marketing-led growth: Companies can double profitability by deploying AI strategically—not only as a cost saver but as a growth catalyst.
The Marketing “Value Flywheel”
Companies need to balance performance across three dimensions of marketing value creation (execution, brand, profit). Each contributes individually, but when companies excel across all three, it creates a flywheel effect that results in compounding, outsized returns.
Samrat Sharma, Principal, Marketing Strategy at PwC US, said: “For decades, marketing leaders have fought to justify their budgets in the boardroom. This analysis establishes marketing as an undeniable driver of enterprise value growth and profitability. The evidence is clear: when marketing is executed with excellence and amplified by AI, it multiplies shareholder returns and profit growth.”
C-Suite Alliance: Turning Alignment into Advantage
Real growth happens when marketing, finance, and the CEO speak the same language of value. Aligning on shared metrics of growth and building a trusted partnership can turn measurement into momentum – and the C-suite into a strategic powerhouse for lasting enterprise value.
Nick Primola, Group Executive Vice President, ANA, said:
“As businesses race to adopt AI, the real risk is missing marketing’s role in creating value. When the C-suite shares one scorecard, AI stops being about efficiency — and starts driving transformation.”
Leadership: Making Bold Choices
Leaders face a choice: use AI to save marketing costs or use it to scale profitable growth. PwC and the ANA’s joint analysis shows that companies choosing to reinvest AI-driven efficiencies into AI-powered creative and activation achieve greater than 2X the profitability of peers chasing just short-term savings.
Tom Birtwhistle, Marketing Strategy Principal, PwC, said: “AI doesn't change the fundamentals of marketing - it amplifies them. Creativity, brand strength, and disciplined execution remain the core drivers of growth. Leaders who use AI to fuel - not flatten - those strengths will ensure great marketing remains a strategic multiplier of shareholder value.”
Strategic Imperative
The release of this research comes at an inflection point: boards are demanding efficiency while AI is reshaping business models at breakneck speed. The study highlights that if C-suite leaders don’t fully grasp marketing’s potential role in AI-driven transformation, they are limiting their capacity to capture long-term enterprise value.
Looking Ahead
This body of PwC and ANA’s work represents only the first chapter. The next phase of the initiative will focus on building real-world AI-driven marketing models - helping companies navigate decisions on how to deploy AI for long-term enterprise value creation.
Press Contact
Jocelyn Weiss
jocelyn.weiss@digennaro-usa.com
About the ANA
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) is the definitive voice of the marketing industry. Since 1910, we have set and advanced the agenda for marketing transformation, connecting over 1,600 member companies to an influential global network, insights and resources that drive growth. Our members represent 20,000 brands and $400 billion in annual marketing investment. Through industry-leading research, the CMO Growth Council, and our proprietary Growth Agenda and Practices, the ANA empowers marketers to shape the future of marketing and create lasting impact for their organizations and the industry.
About PwC
At PwC, we help clients build trust and reinvent so they can turn complexity into competitive advantage. We’re a tech-forward, people-empowered network with more than 370,000 people in 149 countries. Across audit and assurance, tax and legal, deals and consulting we help clients build, accelerate and sustain momentum. Find out more at www.pwc.com
About the Global CMO Growth Council
The Global CMO Growth Council is a partnership between the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Cannes LIONS and represents over 1,200 chief marketers worldwide. Chaired by Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer at Procter & Gamble, the leadership team includes 50 chief marketers from the world’s top brands. Since its launch in 2018, the Growth Council has mobilized thousands of CMOs and industry leaders around the world to transform marketing into a force for economic growth and a force for societal good. It is a community of influential and distinguished marketing leaders addressing key issues facing CMOs, their companies, and all of the stakeholders they serve. Chief marketers hold a privileged responsibility to accelerate broad and bold initiatives that will lead to lasting benefits for their brands, their customers, and our global society.